Daddy Dante
by DragonGoddess
Summary: AU Whether the legendary Demon Hunter Dante is ready for it or not, the role of 'Dad' is dumped upon him when a very young boy by the name of Nero is left on his doorstep.  Parenthood he'll soon discover is a challenge more difficult then demon slaying...
1. Lifechanging Letter

Hey there all~ I don't own Devil May Cry or any of it's characters and all that jazz.

This is my very first fanfic for Devil May Cry and my first fanfic in quite a few years! I was just thinking one day about how Dante would probably be an awesome dad if he ever had kids... So this is an AU where he raises a young Nero. Now I know what the Japanese novels hint at towards Nero's parentage... but that's not completely official yet and I really think Dante would have been a much better candidate for a dad.

I really hope you all enjoy it.

Rated T for language.

Daddy Dante- Chapter 1: Life changing Letter

Dante was not usually the type to go pick up his pizza himself. No he usually couldn't be bothered to get off his ass and tear his eyes away from his magazine for very long when he wasn't on a mission or or picking up some lovely ladies at a local bar. No he usually had it delivered, and all the delivery boys for all the local pizza joints actually knew him by name, even occasionally argued over who got to deliver to him. Man was usually so excited to see his food he always gave a very generous tip.

At least he was a delivery sort of guy until he discovered that the new counter girl at the very appropriately named 'A Slice of Heaven' was a complete TOTAL hottie. So lately he'd taken to ordering his pies for pickup. He'd cruise on down to the joint, make sure his motorcycle was nice and shiny, he'd even put on a clean shirt (he tried going in once with no shirt but the manager did not approve and kicked him out). He'd then take up time and flirt and flirt and flirt with the girl (there was NO WAY she was in high school...right?) until once again the manager kicked him out.

By the time he got home his pizza was usually woefully cold. Hey, small price to pay though if he eventually got that girl's number! She was way better then some ordinary chick he'd pick up in a bar. If he played his cards right it wouldn't mean just sex. It would mean sex AND FREE PIZZA. He wasn't sure which was better. Because sex was sex... but man pizza that he didn't have to pay for? How could it get any better then that? Actually it could, the pizza-angel was telling him about some special pies there weren't even ON the menu, just random things that the employees threw together. Like this crazy triple meat lovers deal with special sausages that one of the chefs brought from home... Now that was an orgasm with a crust.

It was on one of these pizza quest afternoons that his life was turned upside down to use that cliché. He should have realized what was up with all the strange looks he was getting as he strolled home (his bike was in the shop and it wasn't too far a distance to walk). People knew who he was, he kept the streets relatively safe (from demons, if he was payed) he way used to friendly nods in greeting. However today there were no friendly nods from the the people he knew. They just looked at him, eyes narrowed slightly and then spoke in hushed whispers to their companions, eyes darting back to stare at the demon hunter the whole while. It was actually pretty creepy.

He found out soon enough why everyone was acting so oddly as he approached 'Devil may Cry'. There was a kid there. He was maybe around seven and his entire right arm was swathed in bandages and held tightly against his chest in a sling. He also happened to have silvery white hair... much like Dante's! And blue eyes... also just like the one's Dante had. And now that he was paying attention he could sense a certain somewhat demonic sort of aura from the little guy.

Oh yeah there was also a rope tied around the kid's waist, the other end of which was tied to a lamp post just outside his shop. He looked pretty pissed. He also looked like a biter. Dante had a veeerry bad feeling here. Hey, but at least now he knew why everyone was staring!

"Hey kid, how are ya doing?" he forced a smile on his face. Kids loved him! Everyone loved him. Junior McScowly-Pants surely would love him too!

"I'm tied to a lamp post. How do you think I'm doing, dumb ass old man?" the kid just snapped back without missing a beat. Apparently on top of being adorable this kid had a tongue sharp enough to cut a demon's hide. He fished around in the pocket of his little blue hoodie and pulled out a somewhat crumpled, sealed envelope and shoved it at the demon hunter, "You must be Dante, mommy told me to give this to you. She said to look for an idiot with white hair who was probably in a red coat."

Dante was a little taken aback but he took the envelope and tore it open. Any explanation this kid was likely to give would probably only be riddled with insults. Really, what kind of person had been raising him...?

Once he had the envelope open he pulled out the contents, a single sheet of lined paper torn out of a spiral ring notebook most likely. He paled even further once he read what was scrawled on it.

_Dear Fuck-Head_

_I would like to thank you so very much for forgetting _

_to use a condom you stupid drunk ass-wipe. It took me_

_a while to find you but I finally did! This little brat has_

_caused me nothing but trouble and grief. So now it's _

_your turn. Don't like it? Tough shit. He's your fault._

_No love,_

_Jane_

Of course the first thought that came to Dante's mind was... this was just some letter from some crazy woman! There was no way he had a kid! Then again... he did bear a really strong resemblance. And he was definitely partially demon. And exactly how many white haired, blue eyed demons were running around? Of course it COULD perhaps maybe be Vergil's but that thought was completely insane. Just the thought of his twin fucking some human chick was crazy.

"Well, kid... looks like I'm gonna be your new daddy," the kid was pretty adorable after all. It'd be like having his own little mini-me around! Hey and some chicks really dug single dads...

Or at least this was his train of thought until the little hell-brat glared up at him and promptly kicked him in the shin in response.

After some creative cursing, on both their parts, Dante finally managed to untie the kid without any further shin damage and practically dragged him inside to avoid any bigger a scene. He had firmly resolved that he was going to find this kid's mother and deliver him back to her. No way was he going to keep this brat!

He had to do something about him though. Luckily a bribe of a slice of his pizza and a can of coke was enough to momentarily placate him.

He had settled down a bit once he had food in front of him, even though he hadn't started eating it just yet. He was meticulously pulling of the slices of mushroom and pepperoni and depositing them into two separate piles on his plate. All with just that one hand... The other one, the one all bandaged up kind of worried Dante though. Sure he wanted to get the kid out of his hair... but what if his mom was the one who did that? He couldn't just send him back to a dangerous situation.

"So what's your name kiddo?" he flopped onto a chair across from him. He still hadn't gotten it yet.

"Nero," the little guy responded, fairly focused on pulling off one piece of peperoni off that was particularly glued to the cheese. Dante couldn't help but smile a little. He was so cute when he wasn't swearing at him.

"What's up with your arm? You get hurt?"

"That's none of your business old man!" he snapped at him, pressing his bandaged arm even closer to his chest as if he was protecting it.

"Fine fine," Dante frowned a little. He'd get it out of him sooner or later. The kid didn't trust him yet and why should he? They were still strangers, "Hey why are dissecting your pizza like that. You don't like the toppings?"

"Mushrooms are gross!" he declared as he peeled the last mushroom off. With the pizza cleared at last he finally picked the slice up to take a bite.

Dante meanwhile slid his had over to steal one of the abandoned pepperonis. If the kid didn't want them he wasn't going to let them go to waste. However no sooner did he touch one he found his hand smacked by a much smaller one. The one that was occupied by the slice a second ago... and Dante had darted his hand over rather quickly. He found himself a little impressed by the speed of the kid's reflexes.

"Don't steal my pepperonis!" Nero glared angrily at Dante.

"Thought you didn't like them," the hunter smirked a little.

"No, I don't like the mushrooms, you can have those," he picked up the little pile of mushrooms and dumped them onto Dante's slice, "The pepperonis are my favorite so I save 'em an put 'em on the last bite so it's like I'm eating Super Pepperoni Pizza."

"S-super pepperoni?" Dante was trying hard not to laugh because little Nero was just being so... absolutely serious about it. Laughing would have probably earned him another kick in the shin.

"Yeah! So don't take them."

The hunter just couldn't suppress a chuckle then. The rest of the meal was relatively silent. Dante made sure to pull off some of the pepperonis from his own pizza and covertly add them to Nero's pile. Who noticed it anyways. And when he was down to his very last bite he piled up his stack to make his Super Pepperoni Pizza and popped it into his mouth. And then he just... smiled. Just a little, it was brief but Dante caught it. And he felt his heart melt just a little at the sight.

Fuck, he just couldn't bring this kid back to his mother.

Whether he was ready for it or not... Dante was a daddy.

~!~

And there's the end of Chapter 1! I hope you all enjoyed it and it wasn't too weird. 'Jane' is just a random name I picked out because Nero's mom needed a name. She will not be appearing. I have lots of plans for fun and hijinks for future chapters (Perhaps even a visit from beyond the grave from a new Grandpa) so I hope you all stay tuned.

If you enjoyed this please leave a review! Even just a smiley face is fuel for an author because it lets us know people have enjoyed it.


	2. Adjusting

Hi guys! I'm back with Chapter 2! I'm really happy so many people seem to enjoy things so far. I always get so paranoid whenever I start something new...

Anyways! I hope you continue to enjoy it. And I do apologize for the wait. I had some family emergencies that came up.

Chapter 2: Adjusting

Dante wasn't able to get much more useful information from Nero the rest of the night. He was a pretty stubborn and uncooperative little brat. He didn't want to talk about his mother (Dante still couldn't quite figure out who she was), he didn't want to tell him where he was from, talk about his wrapped up arm at all, or pretty much give the devil hunter any useful information at all.

He did find out Nero like watching professional wrestling. Dante didn't exactly have any toys or any kid friendly stuff hanging around, and the brat was becoming bored quite quickly so he flipped on the crummy old TV and flipped around for some cartoons only to be stopped by Nero when images of guys in brightly colored spandex flashed on the screen. The older man laughingly told him it was all fake, the brat yelled at him, called him a liar and threatened to suplex him if he ever said it again.

The rest of the evening went fairly smoothly, Nero was quite engrossed in the TV (apparently there was a wrestling marathon on) and before long he was obviously getting quite tired, yawning and rubbing at his eyes. Dante only looked away from him for a moment and by the time he looked back the boy was out like a light.

He couldn't help but quirk a small smile as he scooped up the tiny frame, careful not to wake him. Nero talked big for such a little guy but in the end he fell asleep early like any other kid. Dante had a spare bedroom upstairs, which he supposed wasn't exactly spare any more, that he dropped the kid off in. He tucked him in nice and snug under the covers (he didn't worry about pajamas, kid hadn't come with a thing aside from the letter and the clothes on his back, he'd have to do some shopping tomorrow). He brushed the silvery bangs away from his newfound son's face, watching him sleep and studying him closer now that he wasn't a pouty little ball of angry. This was still all so hard to believe, surreal almost...

"Night, kiddo."

As he turned to leave he though he caught a strange pale blue glow in the corner of his eye coming from the bed he'd just set Nero down in. However, when turned to look nothing was amiss.

"Huh... Must have been seeing things."

The next morning Dante woke with a groan. He hadn't slept much the night before. His brain was just on over drive trying to figure out everything he had to do with his new kid. He needed more information on Nero's mom that was for sure. He wasn't planning on sending him back to her or anything but he figured he should at least try and set up some sort of legal adoption or whatever it was you set up in this circumstance just in case the chick tried to claim kidnapping or something.

He poked his head into Nero's room, intending to wake him up, but the bed was empty. For a brief moment an awful feeling wrenched in his gut and he thought the boy might have run away in the night. However as soon as he rushed down the stairs he caught sight of a little silver head. Nero turned around from his spot on the couch watching Saturday morning cartoons to give him a glare.

"Hey old man! There's nothing around for breakfast!" he frowned. He'd ransacked the kitchen and found nothing!

"Good morning to you too, kiddo," he sighed and grabbed the pizza box from the previous night and plopped it on the coffee table, "I haven't been shopping in a while, just have some pizza for now."

"I want Fruit Loops!"

"Well all I got right now is pizza," He plopped down on the couch next to Nero and reached over to ruffle his hair. Nero sulkily gave into his fate and grabbed a leftover slice.

"Now we have to talk for a little bit, I know you don't want to, but it's something we gotta do," Dante picked up a slice of his own and gave the little guy what he hoped was an 'And I mean business' look. Once Nero gave a sullen nod, Dante continued.

"What's you and you mom's last name."

Nero responded with a slight shrug. When Dante's eyes narrowed he finally piped up.

"I really don't know! I'm always just Nero... and Mommy never said her last name and we never got any mail," his cheeks were tinged in red from embarrassment. He didn't like not being able to answer.

"Well... what did your teachers call you in school?" Dante felt like this was a loosing battle.

"I never went to school. Mommy didn't want anyone to see me. The old lady in the apartment down the hall taught me how to read and stuff..." he fidgeted in his seat and picked at the pepperoni.

"And where did you live?"

"...Fortuna Island."

"That's a start I guess," Dante was silent for a moment. The name rang a bell but he couldn't decide if he's ever actually been there or not. He could have always met the kid's mum somewhere else and she could have moved there later. He just made a mental note to try and get some info on it later.

"Now... you wanna tell me how that arm of yours got hurt?"

Dante had really begun to think he was beginning to get somewhere with Nero but the question made him clam up immediately. Building up a real solid trust would take some time... but he had hoped he'd at least gotten the beginnings of it.

"Come on Nero, I really need to know," he reached over to brush some of the unruly silvery strands from the boy's eyes. It was odd. Instead of the pouty and angry look he had been expecting... the boy looked almost sad, maybe fearful. What had happened to him? "If it's bad I need to know so I can have a doctor or someone look at you."

"It's... it's not hurt..." he replied after a few long moments. He spoke in a near mumble, not even looking up at the hunter.

"Then why's it all wrapped up like it is?"

"It's ugly..." Dante had to strain his ears to even catch that part.

"Can you show me?" he had no clue what Nero meant by 'ugly' but he still wasn't entirely convinced he wasn't hurt. But he wouldn't know until he had a look under those wrappings.

A few minutes passed in silence, Nero fidgeting uncomfortably next to his new father on the couch. He didn't want to take them off... but from the few glances he stole of the older man he began to figure that he couldn't get away with not showing him either. Finally without say a word he pulled the sling up over his head and off, and then began working on carefully pulling the bandages off.

Whatever Dante was expecting to see, it certainly wasn't what actually lay beneath. As the white gauz slipped away a complex pattern of crimson and royal blue scales and horny ridges was revealed. The few areas that weren't covered in the armor like scales weren't exactly soft or skin like either, and instead a leather looking surface of a deep dark blue. The patterns grew more complex the closer to his hand he got, and each finger on the hand itself was tipped with a small, curved almost delicate seeming claw. The hunter had fought a lot of demons over the years but he had never come across anything so remarkable looking. It was like a work of art.

He couldn't help himself and he took the tiny demonic hand in his own, examining the fine detail of it. The leathery parts glowed with a very faint blue light when he touched it. That must have been what he'd seen last night.

"You know, kiddo your hand," he lightly touched on of the claw tips, glad he didn't press any harder then he did. Those little things were even sharper then they looked, "It's not ugly at all."

"You're just saying that," Nero frowned , tugging his hand away, cradling the arm against his chest im imitation of how it was usually held with the sling, the blue glow fading.

"No, I'm being serious! I've never seen anything like it."

"Mommy always said it was ugly though, she didn't like to see it..."

"Well... your mommy doesn't know shit," Dante couldn't even remember the woman but he couldn't already tell he didn't like her, "And if anyone else ever gives you a hard time you just come and tell me. I'll set them strait."

"Why? You gonna punch 'em for me?"

"If that's what it takes."

"Stupid old man," the boy grumbled, flexing the fingers of his demonic hand. They were stiff from never having really been used before, "I can punch my own jerks. I don't need your help."

Dante couldn't help but grin a little. It had been gone for a moment but that fiery gruff little spirit was back. And the hunter also just couldn't help it when he pulled the scrappy kid in for a tight hug, despite much flailing, protesting and flung insults. And a nasty scratch. He was going to have to be careful now.

"Hey, how about we go out for ice cream? We should officially celebrate this reunion," he loosened his grip to let the little head pop up for air.

"...It's nine-thirty in the morning," Nero gave Dante a dubious look, one eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"Yeah? So what. I know a place."

"...I want a Strawberry Sundae!" the youth's face lit up, "It's my favorite!"

"That's my favorite too you know," Dante laughed at Nero's enthusiasm.

"Nuh-huh! You're just saying that because you wanna be as cool as I am!"

"No one can be as cool as you, kid."

And that's that~ Nero's arm at this age isn't on constant glow because the powers in his arm have not yet been fully awakened! At least that's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Next Chapter... let's see how Lady reacts, huh?

It'll be a lot more fun then this Chapter, but I had to get some of the serious discussion times out of the way.

If you enjoyed this please leave a review!


End file.
